Thanksgiving, 2011

There is a hymn we used to sing in church often.  It was written in 1897, and is appropriate for not only Thanksgiving Day (which those of us in the United States are celebrating today), but for every single day of the year.

When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Count your blessings, name them one by one, 

Count your blessings, see what God hath done! 

Count your blessings, name them one by one, 
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Are you ever burdened with a load of care? 
Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear? 
Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly, 
And you will keep singing as the days go by.

When you look at others with their lands and gold,
Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold;
Count your many blessings. 
Wealth can never buy your reward in heaven, 
nor your home on high.

So, amid the conflict whether great or small, 
Do not be disheartened, God is over all;
Count your many blessings, angels will attend,
Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.

The Wedding

It's over.  The event we planned for so many months is now behind us.  The wedding was wonderful.  Grace was a beautiful bride, and Anthony a handsome groom.  Most things went as we wanted them to.  And those that didn't, well, most were not that important.

So now, life is supposed to get "back to normal".  Whatever that means.  But what was normal on Friday is no longer normal.  I have a married daughter, and a wonderful son (in-law).  Come Monday evening, there will be two married couples, one single woman, two neurotic cats, and an overly enthusiastic dog living under one roof.  There will be adjustments as Phil and I continue to learn our place in Grace and Anthony's lives, and as Sarah adapts to having another man in the house.  The animals will think it's great that there are two more hands to feed and pet them though.

God has been so gracious to us.  Not only that He "show[ed] his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us"  (Romans 5:8, ESV), but that by accepting Christ's death on the cross as the only sufficient payment for our sin, and allowing Christ to assume His rightful headship in our lives, we are His children.  The journey we have been on with Anthony and Grace these past 15 months has been incredible.  It has brought Phil and I closer together as we walked through courtship and then betrothal with Anthony and Grace.  Anthony has been a blessing in our lives, and we have learned much from him, and will continue to do so.  We have also learned more about our daughter.  And Sarah has been challenged and is growing spiritually and emotionally.  We are in awe of all God is doing, and we look forward to the months and years ahead.

It was difficult as the mother-of-the-bride to take pictures, but I have uploaded the ones I was able to get to Facebook.  You can go here to see them - you do not have to have a Facebook account to see them.  Should you not want to do that, here are a few you can enjoy.

 Me with Anthony & Grace

 Phil & I with the happy couple

 Looking to the cross

 The dads with Anthony & Grace

 The entire bridal party

 With my parents

 With Phil's mom

 

 The bridesmaids

 At the beginning of the ceremony

 Grace with her cousin, Jamie Rae, who was one of the flower girls

Grace had to get her favorite monkeys in somewhere!

A Blessing

I received a huge blessing on Tuesday when Grace's boyfriend brought me this:

I knew he was buying flowers for Grace, because he called me to see if her favorite ones - Gerbera daisies - were in season. But when he handed me the rose, I was completely blown away.

That boy is a keeper for sure.